The Road to the White House Leads South
Look South for 2008
If Democrats are seriously looking for a model for winning future elections, they should look South. One look at the political map shows a swatch of red from Virginia to Florida and southwestward to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states. Looking South, there is no blue. Looking west, there is still some blue but the blue is fading. Even the northeast is looking redder as is the midwest.
Republicans are making gains across the country and it would be wise for Democrats to heed the advice of some of those on the winning side.
There are only four Democratic Governors in the South. Among them, Virginia’s governor Mark Warner stands out above the rest, as does his record in Virginia.
Columnist George Will says of Mark Warner “Indeed his success is evidence that Virginia, although it has not voted Democratic since 1964, might be the place for Democrats to start if they are really determined—as they better be—to compete in the South.” (Source-the Washington Post Writers Group)
Arkansas Governor Mike Hugabee (R) says of Mark Warner “I’m glad they didn’t turn to him this time-frankly it might means all my friends in Washington would be looking for jobs.” (Source-the Washington Post)
Governor Mark Warner was elected in 2001 at a time when Virginia had a budget deficit of $6 billion. This deficit was brought about in part by the previous Republican Governor Jim Gilmore’s insistence on phasing out the car tax (personal property taxes on autos).
At the time of Warner’s election, Republicans held a nearly 2/3 majority in the state legislature. Warner crisscrossed the state traveling with a bluegrass band and promising to use his business skills to bring Virginia’s economy back from the brink of destruction. Warner was actually a Northern Virginia guy (DC suburbs) who made a fortune in the cell phone company business.
The campaign for Mark Warner was unlike any other. He spent a lot of time courting rural voters from the rugged coalfield region of far Southwest Virginia. He also connected with an area known as Southside, a part of the state that was economically depressed due to the flight of textile jobs and other manufacturing losses.
Warner quickly developed a reputation as a straight shooter-one that would look you in the eye and tell you the truth. His low-key approach gave the impression he was not just another talking head politician out to win elections. He was genuinely interested in turning Virginia around.
As the previous governor exited his office, he left behind financial ruins that would take three years to clean up. Warner soon learned that the budget shortfall of $3 billion was actually more like $6 billion. Wall Street thretened to lower Virgina's AAA bond rating which would have resulted in higher interest and further damage. This was of paramount concern to Governor Warner and the citizens of Virginia.
Over the course of the first three years, Mark Warner was forced by reality to amend his pledge to not raise taxes. He began cutting and trimming state agencies. Among them, the Transportation Department forfeited over 1000 jobs. At that time, the Department of Transportation was completing only about 20% of its projects on time and within budget.
Education was threatened in a way it had never been threatened before and Virginia educators were knocking at Warner’s door for help. Indeed, everyone in Virginia had their hand out and voters were getting very tired of the budget standoff between Governor Warner and the Republican majority who insisted “no new taxes” for any reason.
In 2003, Governor Warner called a special session of the legislature and began hammering out ways to fix Virginia’s ailing. Warner took his message directly to the people of Virginia and never backed down. In the end, he was able to build a bipartisan coalition with the help of the Republican Senate Finance Chairman to increase taxes on cigarettes and some other items but, the increases were designed to do the least harm. He restructured Virginia’s tax code in the process.
With modest increases in revenues from new taxes that were hardly felt by most people, Warner was able to straighten out the financial mess. His plan doubled the personal deduction from $3,000 to $5,000 which helped people in every income bracket. His tax plan enabled over 140,000 people to not have to file any income taxes at all.
Through common sense, responsible conservative fiscal management, Governor Warner was able to preserve some of the most important items to Virginia voters. Education received the largest increase in funding ($1.4 billion) in Virginia history. Other programs like the Virginia Medical Assistance Program that provides much needed lifesaving cocktail drugs to HIV patients were left intact. Programs like the Department of Rehabilitation Services Personal Assistant Program (PAS) that provides and subsidizes personal care attendants to the disabled were protected. Indeed, Virginia gave personal caregivers a raise from $7.00 per hour to the current $7.80 per hour.
Virginia’s economy under Mark Warner’s leadership was recently outpacing most other states in growth with a healthy 5.9% growth rate. Southside, the area so depressed has seen improvements. Warner continues to focus on Southside during his last year in office.
Mark Warner was endorsed by labor and signed every labor bill that came across his desk and was asked by labor to veto two bills but declined. Overall his record with labor is sound.
Mark Warner outsmarts and outmaneuvers Republicans at every turn. One example was when they accused him of using accounting gimmicks and borrowed staff from other state agencies to hide the true costs of running the governor’s office. They began to publicly demand that he come clean and he promptly did so.
In Governor Warner’s last budget he calculated the true cost of running his office. While his budget was only $2.5 million, his accounting showed it to actually be $3.9 million. He put the figures out for all to see. Republicans, hoping to make a real issue of his “not coming clean” was left with mud smeared all over their faces. Why? Because they were counting on the current Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore winning the governor’s office in 2006 and by one-upping them, Warner backed them into a corner. Now they are faced with a real prospect of leaving Warner’s office budget intact or cutting it before their own guy even takes office (if he does, which is doubtful) if Virginians want the same sane style of responsible government.
In 2004, Governing Magazine named Mark Warner and the Republican Senate Finance Chairman “Public Officials of the Year.” According to their report card on management of states, Virginia ties with Utah for the distinction of “The Best Managed State in the Nation.” Other report cards ranks Virginia as number one. In fact, Virginia was the only state to receive all "A's."
In 2004, the National Governors Association elected Mark Warner as their Chairman. His success in turning Virginia around has not gone unnoticed. His national profile is rising each day and with each new report.
Virginia’s troubled Department of Transportation (VDOT) is now completing 74% of its projects on time and within budget. His most recent VDOT budget provides almost $900 million for road projects and the best Republicans could do was come up with an alternative almost identical to Warner’s own plan. Part of the solution to Virginia's problem came about when Warner made the tough decision to take almost 30 percent, or $2.8 billion out of the six-year transportation plan, transforming it from a wish-list into a realistic blueprint.
Virginia’s record Republican $6 billion deficit (a trend with the GOP) was erased and Governor Warner’s budget projections for his last year in office showed about a $900 million surplus. The news keeps getting better: A new projection since his budget came out now puts the 2005 surplus at $1.2 billion. Taking the $6 billion deficit to a $1.2 billion surplus is a whopping $7 .2 billion dollar turnaround.
Republicans now argue that the surplus should be given back by completing the car tax phase out. Warner has already warned against going on a reckless spending spree and reminds everyone that some of the money used to fix Virginia's problems was borrowed from other places like the state's rainy day fund. Nonetheless, in July 2005, the tax on food will decrease from the current 4% to 2.5%. Warner has defied any notion that he is a tax and spend liberal or that he is anxious to sock it to voters through new taxes.
Governor Mark Warner takes a centrist-moderate position on most issues. He meets the voters right where they are in the center. On social issues, he walks a careful tightrope, knowing what to say and when to be quiet. He angered some Democrats with his centrist position on abortion by signing a Parental Notification Law. In essence his position seems to be “if a teacher should not be allowed to give a child an aspirin without their parents consent, a child should not be allowed to get an abortion without their consent or the intervention of a judge in extreme cases of rape, incest, etc.” He does not support citizens being armed with high-powered assault rifles but the NRA did not oppose him.
There is no more effective Democratic governor than Mark Warner and certainly not in the South. North Carolina receives a C grade in its management of affairs. Tennessee’s Democratic Governor used an axe on the lower income people who depend on state programs for basic health care.
Mark Warner barring some last minute mistakes (not likely) will leave Virginia as one of the most popular governors in Virginia history. His approval rating is high and even Republicans will tell you Mark Warner is a different kind of leader.
I have traveled Virginia from one end of the state to the other and in cafes, churches, educational institutions, in private industry, and everywhere you look, Mark Warner’s success is evident. One recent article states “There is hardly anything Virginia is not doing right and doing well.”
There is one thing that keeps popping up when Mark Warner is talked about as a presidential contender for 2008 and that is he has only held one elected office. Of his inexperience I’ll leave you with this quote from another of Virginia’s eight U.S. Presidents, Woodrow Wilson, found in the biography of Dean Acheson which quotes Wilson:
“So, when the presidential candidate came to be chosen, it was recognized as imperatively necessary that he should have as short a political record as possible, and that he should wear a clean and irreproachable insignificance...A decisive career which gives a man a well understood place in public estimation constitutes a positive disability for the presidency ;because CANDIDACY must precede election, and the shoals of candidacy can be passed only by a light boat which carries little freight and can be turned readily about to suit the intricacies of the passage.”
The road to the White House in 2008 begins in the South, hopefully led by a Southern Governor named Mark Warner!
Every Democratic President since Lyndon Johnson has been from the South.
Virginia is known as the mother of presidents. Eight U.S. presidents were born in Virginia.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, & Woodrow Wilson.
Could Mark Warner be the next president to hail from Virginia? We believe so. Join the national effortto Draft Mark Warner for President in 2008.
Sign up Now!Website: http://www.draftmarkwarner.com
Keep up with the fuss at:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DraftMarkWarner/
Draft Mark Warner has of February 2005, brought together Warner supporters from eigthteen states.
If Democrats are seriously looking for a model for winning future elections, they should look South. One look at the political map shows a swatch of red from Virginia to Florida and southwestward to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states. Looking South, there is no blue. Looking west, there is still some blue but the blue is fading. Even the northeast is looking redder as is the midwest.
Republicans are making gains across the country and it would be wise for Democrats to heed the advice of some of those on the winning side.
There are only four Democratic Governors in the South. Among them, Virginia’s governor Mark Warner stands out above the rest, as does his record in Virginia.
Columnist George Will says of Mark Warner “Indeed his success is evidence that Virginia, although it has not voted Democratic since 1964, might be the place for Democrats to start if they are really determined—as they better be—to compete in the South.” (Source-the Washington Post Writers Group)
Arkansas Governor Mike Hugabee (R) says of Mark Warner “I’m glad they didn’t turn to him this time-frankly it might means all my friends in Washington would be looking for jobs.” (Source-the Washington Post)
Governor Mark Warner was elected in 2001 at a time when Virginia had a budget deficit of $6 billion. This deficit was brought about in part by the previous Republican Governor Jim Gilmore’s insistence on phasing out the car tax (personal property taxes on autos).
At the time of Warner’s election, Republicans held a nearly 2/3 majority in the state legislature. Warner crisscrossed the state traveling with a bluegrass band and promising to use his business skills to bring Virginia’s economy back from the brink of destruction. Warner was actually a Northern Virginia guy (DC suburbs) who made a fortune in the cell phone company business.
The campaign for Mark Warner was unlike any other. He spent a lot of time courting rural voters from the rugged coalfield region of far Southwest Virginia. He also connected with an area known as Southside, a part of the state that was economically depressed due to the flight of textile jobs and other manufacturing losses.
Warner quickly developed a reputation as a straight shooter-one that would look you in the eye and tell you the truth. His low-key approach gave the impression he was not just another talking head politician out to win elections. He was genuinely interested in turning Virginia around.
As the previous governor exited his office, he left behind financial ruins that would take three years to clean up. Warner soon learned that the budget shortfall of $3 billion was actually more like $6 billion. Wall Street thretened to lower Virgina's AAA bond rating which would have resulted in higher interest and further damage. This was of paramount concern to Governor Warner and the citizens of Virginia.
Over the course of the first three years, Mark Warner was forced by reality to amend his pledge to not raise taxes. He began cutting and trimming state agencies. Among them, the Transportation Department forfeited over 1000 jobs. At that time, the Department of Transportation was completing only about 20% of its projects on time and within budget.
Education was threatened in a way it had never been threatened before and Virginia educators were knocking at Warner’s door for help. Indeed, everyone in Virginia had their hand out and voters were getting very tired of the budget standoff between Governor Warner and the Republican majority who insisted “no new taxes” for any reason.
In 2003, Governor Warner called a special session of the legislature and began hammering out ways to fix Virginia’s ailing. Warner took his message directly to the people of Virginia and never backed down. In the end, he was able to build a bipartisan coalition with the help of the Republican Senate Finance Chairman to increase taxes on cigarettes and some other items but, the increases were designed to do the least harm. He restructured Virginia’s tax code in the process.
With modest increases in revenues from new taxes that were hardly felt by most people, Warner was able to straighten out the financial mess. His plan doubled the personal deduction from $3,000 to $5,000 which helped people in every income bracket. His tax plan enabled over 140,000 people to not have to file any income taxes at all.
Through common sense, responsible conservative fiscal management, Governor Warner was able to preserve some of the most important items to Virginia voters. Education received the largest increase in funding ($1.4 billion) in Virginia history. Other programs like the Virginia Medical Assistance Program that provides much needed lifesaving cocktail drugs to HIV patients were left intact. Programs like the Department of Rehabilitation Services Personal Assistant Program (PAS) that provides and subsidizes personal care attendants to the disabled were protected. Indeed, Virginia gave personal caregivers a raise from $7.00 per hour to the current $7.80 per hour.
Virginia’s economy under Mark Warner’s leadership was recently outpacing most other states in growth with a healthy 5.9% growth rate. Southside, the area so depressed has seen improvements. Warner continues to focus on Southside during his last year in office.
Mark Warner was endorsed by labor and signed every labor bill that came across his desk and was asked by labor to veto two bills but declined. Overall his record with labor is sound.
Mark Warner outsmarts and outmaneuvers Republicans at every turn. One example was when they accused him of using accounting gimmicks and borrowed staff from other state agencies to hide the true costs of running the governor’s office. They began to publicly demand that he come clean and he promptly did so.
In Governor Warner’s last budget he calculated the true cost of running his office. While his budget was only $2.5 million, his accounting showed it to actually be $3.9 million. He put the figures out for all to see. Republicans, hoping to make a real issue of his “not coming clean” was left with mud smeared all over their faces. Why? Because they were counting on the current Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore winning the governor’s office in 2006 and by one-upping them, Warner backed them into a corner. Now they are faced with a real prospect of leaving Warner’s office budget intact or cutting it before their own guy even takes office (if he does, which is doubtful) if Virginians want the same sane style of responsible government.
In 2004, Governing Magazine named Mark Warner and the Republican Senate Finance Chairman “Public Officials of the Year.” According to their report card on management of states, Virginia ties with Utah for the distinction of “The Best Managed State in the Nation.” Other report cards ranks Virginia as number one. In fact, Virginia was the only state to receive all "A's."
In 2004, the National Governors Association elected Mark Warner as their Chairman. His success in turning Virginia around has not gone unnoticed. His national profile is rising each day and with each new report.
Virginia’s troubled Department of Transportation (VDOT) is now completing 74% of its projects on time and within budget. His most recent VDOT budget provides almost $900 million for road projects and the best Republicans could do was come up with an alternative almost identical to Warner’s own plan. Part of the solution to Virginia's problem came about when Warner made the tough decision to take almost 30 percent, or $2.8 billion out of the six-year transportation plan, transforming it from a wish-list into a realistic blueprint.
Virginia’s record Republican $6 billion deficit (a trend with the GOP) was erased and Governor Warner’s budget projections for his last year in office showed about a $900 million surplus. The news keeps getting better: A new projection since his budget came out now puts the 2005 surplus at $1.2 billion. Taking the $6 billion deficit to a $1.2 billion surplus is a whopping $7 .2 billion dollar turnaround.
Republicans now argue that the surplus should be given back by completing the car tax phase out. Warner has already warned against going on a reckless spending spree and reminds everyone that some of the money used to fix Virginia's problems was borrowed from other places like the state's rainy day fund. Nonetheless, in July 2005, the tax on food will decrease from the current 4% to 2.5%. Warner has defied any notion that he is a tax and spend liberal or that he is anxious to sock it to voters through new taxes.
Governor Mark Warner takes a centrist-moderate position on most issues. He meets the voters right where they are in the center. On social issues, he walks a careful tightrope, knowing what to say and when to be quiet. He angered some Democrats with his centrist position on abortion by signing a Parental Notification Law. In essence his position seems to be “if a teacher should not be allowed to give a child an aspirin without their parents consent, a child should not be allowed to get an abortion without their consent or the intervention of a judge in extreme cases of rape, incest, etc.” He does not support citizens being armed with high-powered assault rifles but the NRA did not oppose him.
There is no more effective Democratic governor than Mark Warner and certainly not in the South. North Carolina receives a C grade in its management of affairs. Tennessee’s Democratic Governor used an axe on the lower income people who depend on state programs for basic health care.
Mark Warner barring some last minute mistakes (not likely) will leave Virginia as one of the most popular governors in Virginia history. His approval rating is high and even Republicans will tell you Mark Warner is a different kind of leader.
I have traveled Virginia from one end of the state to the other and in cafes, churches, educational institutions, in private industry, and everywhere you look, Mark Warner’s success is evident. One recent article states “There is hardly anything Virginia is not doing right and doing well.”
There is one thing that keeps popping up when Mark Warner is talked about as a presidential contender for 2008 and that is he has only held one elected office. Of his inexperience I’ll leave you with this quote from another of Virginia’s eight U.S. Presidents, Woodrow Wilson, found in the biography of Dean Acheson which quotes Wilson:
“So, when the presidential candidate came to be chosen, it was recognized as imperatively necessary that he should have as short a political record as possible, and that he should wear a clean and irreproachable insignificance...A decisive career which gives a man a well understood place in public estimation constitutes a positive disability for the presidency ;because CANDIDACY must precede election, and the shoals of candidacy can be passed only by a light boat which carries little freight and can be turned readily about to suit the intricacies of the passage.”
The road to the White House in 2008 begins in the South, hopefully led by a Southern Governor named Mark Warner!
Every Democratic President since Lyndon Johnson has been from the South.
Virginia is known as the mother of presidents. Eight U.S. presidents were born in Virginia.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, & Woodrow Wilson.
Could Mark Warner be the next president to hail from Virginia? We believe so. Join the national effortto Draft Mark Warner for President in 2008.
Sign up Now!Website: http://www.draftmarkwarner.com
Keep up with the fuss at:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DraftMarkWarner/
Draft Mark Warner has of February 2005, brought together Warner supporters from eigthteen states.
